Noodles
by SecondAlternateLieutenant
Summary: Narook's Seaweed Noodlry's infamous Noodle Thursdays where bowls of their best seller are buy one get one free! It's Makorra, I swear. Fluffy though, really fluffy .


Every Thursday night, without fail, Narook's Seaweed Noodlery was filled to the brim with customers eager to get in on the 'buy one, get one free' bowl of noodles deal. If you got there when the special started at five, you'd find the place packed solid until closing at midnight. But there was one secret ingredient in the most popular bowl of noodles that kept the people coming back for Thursday night noodle night.

Cactus juice.

There was something amusing to the people who partook in the weekly ritual about how they acted once the cactus juice got into their systems. They would laugh, see things that weren't really happening, and after they were cut off after four bowls, the legal limit, they'd wander home on foot, laughing the entire way.

So on Thursday nights when he couldn't find Korra and Bolin on Air Temple Island, Mako knew he could find them at Narook's. For some reason he was never invited, and he theorized that Narook's was their place to go to as friends, and they usually went when he wasn't around. He was never not invited; it was just simply something Bolin and Korra did together.

At least until they were both far too intoxicated to get themselves home and he came to get them.

"You." Korra was always amorous when she had had her fill of noodles. "You are so sexy." She breathed in his face and Mako grimaced in amusement at her. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too." Mako winced at the heavy cactus scent on her breath and looked to where Bolin was looking curiously at a streetlamp. "Bo? Are you coming?"

"What?" Bolin looked at his brother. "Mako!" He shouted as if he'd just noticed he was there. "What's up bro?"

"You're going home after noodle night." Mako explained and grabbed his brother's collar to help lead him while Korra had her arms around his waist, grinning up at him.

"Did we have fun?"

"Yeah we did!" Korra agreed rowdily. Mako wrestled the two of them to Bolin's apartment; made sure his brother was settled and scooped Korra up in his arms to take her back to theirs. "You know, you're so sexy." She repeated herself several times as he carried her, but Mako could hear her getting sleepy. "You don't ever relax." Korra accused him when he settled her down on their bed.

"What?" Mako raised his eyebrows at her curiously. "I do."

"Do not." Korra herself was lying on the bed and moving like it was the most comfortable place in the world. "You're always picking up after me an' Bo; you never make us clean up after you." Korra's words were slurring as she started to pass out. As flirtatious as she was, she'd pass out even if they did start to have sex, so there wasn't any point to trying.

But she had a point. Mako frowned at her as she turned over to pass out, leaving him to clean up after her. Why did she always get to be the one goofing off with his brother while he had to be responsible?

The thought stuck with him throughout the next few days and into the weekend. Then the beginning of the week and finally Thursday.

Noodle Thursday.

"Korra!" Bolin knocked on his brother and sister-in-law's door. "Ready for noodles?"

"No." Korra was frowning as she opened the door. "Mako didn't come home after work." She was chewing her lower lip with concern.

"He's probably fine." Bolin waved it off. Mako could take care of himself, he always did. "Come on, we'll grab some noodles and then get on our way."

"You sure?" Korra was leaning toward going out with Bolin. It _was _noodle Thursday after all.

"He'll be fine." Bolin practically pulled her out of the apartment and they walked together to Narook's. Bolin was cheerful as ever but Korra was a little reserved, still thinking that something was wrong if Mako wasn't home. But Narook's was louder than usual, there was a crowd of people surrounding one table in the middle, attracting a lot of attention with how a couple of guys were loudly singing an old Fire Nation folk song. "Ah I remember this from when I was… a kid…" Bolin's voice trailed off.

"_Mako?_" Korra stepped toward her husband as he sang the last line of the song. "What are you doing?"

"Korra!" Mako grinned at her. "Hey guys!" He shouted to the men surrounding him. "This is my wife, isn't she hot? And she's the Avatar, how cool is that?" He staggered toward her as the guys around him made both sniggers and guffaws at his wife. "I love you." He grinned at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm _relaxing_." Mako emphasized the word and Korra felt her face flush.

"I didn't mean that, Mako, I wasn't myself." She muttered uneasily.

"No, you were right!" Mako snorted. "I don't do this." He grabbed his bowl and drained the rest of the cactus juice into his mouth. "Bo! Come on, join me!"

"Uh, Mako, how many bowls have you had?" Bolin looked uneasy.

"Don't know, don't care." Mako dug into the noodles left in his bowl with a vigor that left both his brother and wife surprised.

"Mako, honey." Korra tried to baby him to get him home. "Let's go home."

"No, it's Noodle Thursdays!" Mako grinned at them like they were out of their minds. "Come on, join me!" He urged and waved for more bowls to be brought, and Korra and Bolin slowly at one bowl each while watching Mako devour another in front of them. That was two that they knew about.

"Mako, really, let's go." Korra bit her bottom lip. "We need to get home."

"I'm having fun!" Mako grinned around at the restaurant. The initial crowd that had been surrounding him at their arrival had dispersed, leaving mostly couples and other tables around them instead of surrounding him.

"We're leaving." Bolin stood and grabbed his brother's arm.

"Alright alright." Mako agreed and leaned on his brother while they started out the door. Korra took the free second to ask how many bowls of noodles her husband had consumed during his visit before joining them outside.

"What's the damage?" Bolin asked softly.

"Six." Korra winced. "I don't know how he's still upright."

"I feel fine!" Mako announced and pushed away from Bolin to walk himself, but staggered against a wall.

"You won't tomorrow." Bolin muttered and ducked under Mako's arm to help him to the door of his and Korra's apartment. Korra had her arms crossed, feeling entirely uncomfortable with this entire situation.

She'd pushed him to this. He'd gotten this intoxicated to teach her a lesson, because she told him he didn't ever relax. But it wasn't true, Mako relaxed plenty with her, but when he was responsible, he was unwavering. He was her rock, and she didn't like seeing him like this. It took both of them to help Mako up the stairs to their apartment and he fell onto their couch, grinning at the wall.

"Are you going to be ok?" Bolin glanced at his brother while he spoke to her.

"Yeah, I can take care of him." Korra sighed and shifted awkwardly. "I just, I don't like him like this, but…"

"But he deals with us." Bolin nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should cut down on Noodle Thursdays."

"No!" Mako was frowning at them. "That's not it." He shook his head dramatically. "God, you two." He tried to stand, but gave up. "It's not that you go out, it's just that you think I'm incapable of having fun. I'm not."

"You're intoxicated." Korra sighed and winced at him.

"I may have overdone it." Mako allowed with a grin. "But it was fun."

"You want to come next week?" Bolin grinned at his brother. "We'll have less noodles, but more fun, all three of us."

"Sounds fantastic." Mako slurred and heaved himself up. "I'm going to use the bathroom." He informed and stepped into the room indicated.

"He's going to be sick all night." Korra shook her head and smiled at her brother-in-law. "I'll take care of him."

"Let me make you tea before I go." Bolin went to the kitchen and started brewing tea for Mako and Korra to drink while Mako got the cactus juice out of his system. Korra thanked him and brought the steaming cups into the bedroom and frowned that Mako was still in the bathroom.

"Sick?" She asked him at the doorway, wincing that his head was practically in the toilet bowl.

"A little." Mako admitted. "Maybe."

"Ok." Korra laughed. "Ever felt like this before?"

"Yeah, but not for a while." Mako winced at how his stomach kept heaving. "I didn't think I was a lightweight."

"You're not." Korra snorted. "Six bowls, my love, that's two past the legal limit."

"Oh." Mako frowned. "I don't remember how many I had."

"That's because you were so entertaining, everyone bought you a few." Korra sat on the floor with him. "That was a nice song you were singing."

"My Dad used to sing it." Mako grinned widely, pausing to spit into the toilet. "I loved it."

"I could tell." Korra laughed and rubbed his back. "I didn't like trading places." She admitted softly. "I like that you're always the rock for me."

"I like being your rock." He sighed. "I guess what you said hurt a little, and I wanted to show you I can relax."

"I didn't like it." She laughed, shaking her head. "Bo and I'll be responsible from now on, you won't need to babysit us." It was a promise she'd be determined to keep.

"Good, and one more favor." Mako frowned and flushed the toilet.

"Anything."

"No more noodles for a while."


End file.
